First, make sure you have enough material; whatever you choose as your medium. One of my favorite nutrients for successful transplanting is Botanicare Liquid Karma. I found it works well with anything from rock wool, coco, pro-mix, to soil. I like to use it as a root drench to prepare the medium to set the roots into their new home and after transplant. It is great for young starts and seedlings, and it helps with transplant shock as well as accelerates root growth. Liquid Karma is an organic based supplement derived from fermented compost, amino acids, vitamins, plant extracts, humic acid, seaweed extract and carbohydrates. And it can even be used as a foliar spray if the roots are not totally developed. This will help encourage new growth.

For an extra-added organic kick, make sure to use a mycorrhizae inoculant. There are a number of mycorrhizae products on the market, but Xtreme Gardening MYKOS Pure Fresh Alive gives you the most bang for your buck. Sprinkle in the transplant hole for huge roots and major nutrient uptake. You want your roots to come into contact with the granules, so they immediately go to work. Also, make sure you are using de-chlorinated water! Another organic approach I can recommend is the use of compost tea. Whether you brew it yourself, or use a tried and true system like Vermicrop’s VermiT; a proper tea will boost the beneficial bacteria population in your medium. Many gardeners are switching to more organic methods and getting the same, if not better results than some of their conventional counter-parts. But with that being said, some of the tried and true, old school root stimulating additives are still incredibly effective…Rhizotonic, SUPERthrive, Thrive Alive, Roots Excelerator, RapidStart, are but a few of the many effective additives that will help a plant to get established once transplanted.

Always remember if you are transplanting inside or outside a cooler environment is ideal. Try transplanting in the morning and avoid full sun. If inside under HID, make sure to keep the lights raised for a couple of days, so you don’t stress out your newly transplanted garden. Plants brought from inside to outside need to have four to seven day of sun conditioning. Try using some shade cloth to prevent sunburn. Trees, bushes, and other shrubs can also be used to block full sun.

The key is to be gentle with your plants. Water your plants, then transplant. They will come out of their previous containers easier. Make sure the medium that you are transplanting into is moist and not over-saturated. Mist your plants a little the first couple of days to keep the humidity up a little. Do not over-water! It takes at least a day or so for the newly transplanted roots to start up taking again. At this stage of the game less is more. You don’t want to give newly transplanted plants more than they can handle. Make sure your plants are far enough away from your lights because less light is more effective, immediately after transplant. And make sure you acclimate your plants at each step of the way…this will make for happy plants!